Heartbreak in Kingston

Coming off a five-set victory against Royal Military College the night before, the McMaster Women’s Volleyball team continued their journey on the road and headed to Kingston, Ont. where they faced the hosting Queens Golden Gaels.

McMaster started off rocky to begin the first set as their passing consistency was lacking and service from Queens was consistent. The Gaels continued to improve as they gained a quick five point lead over the Marauders and headed into the technical timeout with a strong 16-9 lead. Continuous attempts from the Marauders were stuffed by some strong blocks from the Gaels, which only made matters worse for the McMaster squad. Queens enjoyed another consistent run, which would soon put the set out of reach for the Maroon contingent.

The second set proved to be a much better one for the visiting Marauders as Shannon McRobert put forth a consistent effort from the service line helping the Marauders to take an early 6-2 lead over the Gaels. McMaster continued to impress at the service line, which would prove to be a challenge for the Gaels as the set continued. With the Gaels slightly off balance the Marauders continued to strike. The Marauders soon raced to an 11-point lead. McMaster help their lead in order to close out the second set with a victory of 25-12 bringing the game to a 1-1 tie.

Queens jumped on to an early lead to start off the third set, but after a brief time out McMaster responded by bringing the set to a tie score at six a piece. The Gaels would soon build momentum leading the Marauders at 13-9. The lead continued for the Gaels with a 16-10 lead over the Marauders at the technical timeout. The Marauders continued to struggle with their passing techniques and the Gaels were able to jump on a slow start by the ladies in Maroon and take the third set 25-13.

The Marauders had a shaky start to their fourth set, falling behind by four immediately. Luckily a few errors by Queens allowed the Marauders to take advantage and put themselves in the lead by one with a score of 8-7. The Gaels fought back, however, to regain the lead at the technical timeout at 16-13. It looked promising for the Golden Gaels to take the fourth set, but McMaster continued to push back. The Marauders crept back to tie the set and managed to blow past the Gaels and take the fourth set 25-23, bringing the game to a tie once again at 2-2.

McMaster seemed to have found their momentum and looked to come out strong in the fifth and final set. McMaster claimed the first four of the five points, which would force Queens to call a timeout. Each team enjoyed a steady run of points but it was the final shift of the game that proved to be the game changer.  After a mis-fire and a few errors from the Marauder squad the Gaels triumphed taking the final set 15-9 and crushing the Marauders hopes of a win.

It proved to be a disappointing loss for the Marauders as their comeback battle proved to be just not enough to seal the deal against the strong Queens force. The Marauders can now finish no better then fifth place in the OUA and will have to play their quarterfinal game on the road.

Kailee Stock had a team-high 12 points and nine kills in the game, and Shannon McRobert and Mira Krunic added an additional 11 points each.